


Beyond the Rainbow

by Laura_Mayfair



Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: Family, First Cylon War, Gen, Mother/Son
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-10
Updated: 2014-04-10
Packaged: 2018-01-18 20:35:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1441960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laura_Mayfair/pseuds/Laura_Mayfair
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tom Zarek sees his first rainbow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beyond the Rainbow

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: BSG-epics Inspiration Day - Lyrics - “Over the Rainbow.”  
> Thanks, rirenec, for the prompt.  
> And a big thank you to lanalucy for the beta. Thanks for making this read so much better than it did out of the box. You're awesome!

“We have to bundle up today, sweetheart.” Karen Zarek helped her four year old son into his coat. Her own coat was faded and worn; she was constantly cutting off the fraying strings or hiding the pilly collar with thick wool scarves Mrs. Rose knitted for her.  
  
The kindly neighbor often watched Tom for Karen when her headaches were really bad. Today the pain was manageable and she wanted to get to the grocery store while it was still early. Tomorrow marked the last day to use the allotted ration cards, and the stores would be bursting at the seams. It would be even worse on the following day, when the next weekly cycle began. Her best bet would be to get there today, before the mad onslaught really hit.  
  
The government had instituted the ration ID cards a couple of months ago in hopes of controlling the food shortages that continued to worsen as the Cylon war raged on. Shopping only once a week was supposed to “prevent families from overbuying.” Overbuying would be impossible for the Zareks, and for many other Saggitaron families, whose meager salaries limited what they could afford --not to mention the fact that you couldn’t overbuy what simply wasn’t available.  
  
She would not take Tom with her to the grocery store -- where nerves ran raw and tempers flared. They walked hand in hand across the street to the row of apartment houses that were a carbon copy of their own.  
  
Tom stopped suddenly and squeezed his mother’s hand as they approached the Roses’ building. He pointed excitedly up at the sky. “Rainbow!” he said happily. His dimples showed when he smiled.  
  
Karen looked up and saw where her son was pointing. There _was_ a rainbow peeking its way through the gray clouds in a pristinely iridescent arch of vibrant color, just above the Nitrassium plant where she and her husband worked. The smoke from the refinery process sometimes created thick clouds that billowed above the stark row of chimneys. The colors emanated from the same chemicals that caused Karen’s headaches and violent nausea.  
  
The image of a Labor Ministry pamphlet flashed across her mind, slick and shiny with fresh ink:  
  
 _Nitrassium is non-toxic. Long-term exposure is safe, with no lasting effects. Nitrassium sickness is rare and temporary, and this minor inconvenience is easily treatable with aeltolol._  
  
Karen’s joy was far more muted than her son’s, her smile subdued. “Yes, Tom,” she said softly, nodding, “It is a rainbow.”


End file.
